A 'potentially significant market shift' is happening in housing

The breakneck pace of US home-price increases is slowing down,
according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The FHFA on Wednesday released its monthly house price index for
June and a report on the second quarter.

In every month during Q2, prices rose 0.2%, "a much more modest
pace of appreciation than we've seen in some time" that reflects
pressures from falling home affordability, according to Andrew
Leventis, FHFA supervisory economist.

"Although the appreciation rate for the second quarter was of
similar magnitude to what we've been seeing for several years
now, a close look at the month-over-month price changes
during the quarter reveals a potentially significant market
shift," Leventis said (emphasis added).

This does not mean prices are now falling on aggregate. During
Q2, home prices rose in every state except Vermont. The biggest
quarter-on-quarter gains were seen in Oregon, Washington,
Colorado, and Florida.

The FHFA's
report showed that house prices rose 1.2% in the second
quarter, and gained 5.6% compared with the same period a year
ago.

The June index of 0.2% was below economists' forecast of 0.3%.

The economic calendar this week is full of housing data. On
Tuesday, the Census Bureau said new
home sales rose in July to a 7-year high.